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Computational Prediction of Bacteriophage Host Ranges
Cyril J Versoza1, Susanne P Pfeifer2
1Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
Microorganisms
|January 21, 2022
Summary
Bioinformatic tools can now predict bacteriophage host ranges, overcoming limitations of traditional lab methods. This offers a high-throughput alternative for identifying effective bacteriophage agents in medicine and agriculture.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bioinformatics
- Genetics
Background:
- Antibiotic resistance necessitates novel therapeutic strategies.
- Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect bacteria and are being explored as alternatives to antibiotics.
- Determining a phage's host range is crucial for its application but experimentally challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review emerging bioinformatic tools for predicting bacteriophage host ranges.
- To highlight the potential of computational methods for high-throughput host range analysis.
- To address the limitations of traditional experimental methods in phage research.
Main Methods:
- Review of recently developed bioinformatic tools.
- Computational prediction of bacteriophage-host interactions.
- Analysis of tool capabilities for diverse phage and bacterial targets.
Main Results:
- Bioinformatic tools provide a promising, high-throughput alternative to experimental host range determination.
- These tools can predict the host range of phages, including those difficult to culture.
- Computational approaches expand the scope of phage research beyond laboratory constraints.
Conclusions:
- Bioinformatic tools are valuable for accelerating the discovery and application of bacteriophage agents.
- Computational host range prediction facilitates the selection of phages for agricultural, biotechnological, and medical uses.
- The integration of bioinformatics enhances the scalability and efficiency of phage-based strategies against bacterial infections.
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